A recipe for The Queen of Tarts Red Velvet Cupcakes is part of the new cookbook, Alice Eats.

EDMONTON - I often wonder what makes a cookbook work. What is it that draws a food lover to a certain text, viewing it with that mixture of anticipation (it looks so good!) and anxiety (am I up to the recipes?) that signals you are ready to leap in?

In the case of Alice Eats, though, I have it figured out. The new cookbook, which reprints the classic children’s story and mixes it up with themed recipes, playful illustrations and inspiring photos, seems to encompass the personalities of the Calgary creators — Julie Van Rosendaal and Pierre Lamielle.

Both of the authors are offbeat, and a whole lot of fun, and so the book is, too.

In fact, at last week’s Christmas in November celebration at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, the two cornballs had the audience regularly laughing right out loud during their cooking demonstration, which was based on the new release. No polite titters here; these were belly laughs. Not surprisingly, Alice Eats sold out at the on-site gift shop; indeed, the first print run of 3,500 copies has already disappeared, and it’s not even Christmas yet.

Lamielle and Van Rosendaal have been friends for years, but it was Lamielle who first got the Alice Eats project going. As an illustrator who also studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York, he had been fascinated by Alice in Wonderland for a long time.

The book, which is in the public domain, has been reprinted with illustrations numerous times, and Lamielle had read the book enough to know it was laced with food references, including cakes that said Eat Me. He began to play with ways to incorporate whimsical designs and recipes, but found himself overwhelmed by the material.

Enter the practical and take-charge Julie van Rosendaal — author of six cookbooks, and food and nutrition columnist for CBC radio in Calgary. Van Rosendaal, known for her humorous and prolific food blog, Dinner with Julie, was able to pare back the somewhat obscure dishes that Lamielle had come up.

Eventually, they invented 42 recipes that were approachable, and yet exciting, and also tied to the book’s characters.

“It showed both of our culinary backgrounds,” says Van Rosendaal. “Pierre is a chef, trained in New York, and I am much more a home cook. We had to meet in the middle a lot. Like Pierre wanted to do a lobster crème brûlée, but it would have been too weird.”

The book is both beautiful and inspiring, with a British theme reflected in ingredients such as black currants and treacle. Some people will see it as a children’s book, and a great way to get kids into the kitchen, perhaps with their grandparents. Others will see it as a party guide, still others, a tarted-up version of a beloved fairy tale.

There is an entire menu of 16 dishes — from scones to jam tarts — that make up a menu for a Mad Hatter’s tea party. But there are also dishes that are less niche, like the practical Mock Turtle Soup, or the Ginger Carrot Sandwiches.

“I would describe it as a sharing-food book,” says Van Rosendaal. “The whole idea of the tea party is to gather the characters that are so different. The thing that brings them together is the table, and the food that’s on it. Most dishes are not a big meal, but things you can graze on.”

Lamielle let his imagination loose on the illustrations. Children, in particular, will enjoy his attention to detail.

“When I was re-reading the tea party chapter I was realizing these guys are stuck at the table for a really long time,” he says. “Time has been suspended.”

So he decided to draw grass growing up the table legs in the illustration of the outdoor tea party, and he gave the characters beards because they have been there for so long. Lamielle himself grew a beard so he could channel the Mad Hatter.

“It checks off a lot of boxes,” says Lamielle of the cookbook. “Great photos, practical, inviting, with recipes that tie in with a classic story. Alice Eats is this amazing package — people are familiar with it, but it’s new and exciting.”

As the introduction of the book notes: “Alice Eats draws all of us — the Mad Hatters and the March Hares, the Cheshire Cats and the Queens of Hearts, the Caterpillars and the Alices — to the table, together, to toast our similarities and differences and everything else that makes this world such a crazy and delicious place in which to be.”

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar; set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk in the oil, eggs, red food colouring and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips (if using) and stir just until well blended.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups (or mini muffin cups) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until domed and springy to the touch. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the cream-cheese frosting:

In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar, milk and vanilla, beating until the mixture is well blended and smooth; add a little more sugar or milk if necessary to achieve a spreadable frosting. Once the cakes are completely cooled, spread with frosting or pipe it on top. To get a swirled effect fit for a queen, spoon the frosting into a Ziplock bag. Seal the bag and snip off a corner, then squeeze out the icing in a pattern, onto the cooled cupcakes.

Alice’s advice:

In red velvet cakes, the chocolate is dialed down to allow the colour to shine through. If you want a more intense flavour with a mild blush, use more cocoa powder; if you’re aiming for a redder velvet cupcake, keep the cocoa powder down to 2 tablespoons (30 mL) and turn up the red food colouring.

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